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How the Disappearance of Flight 19 Fueled the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle

(www.smithsonianmag.com)
60 points pseudolus | 6 comments | 07 Dec 25 12:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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PearlRiver ◴[07 Dec 25 17:02 UTC] No.46183136[source]▶
There was a Belgian passenger plan that got lost on its way to Teheran and had to land in Grozny. Before GPS planes had literal human navigators with maps and sextants!

I would be more inclined to believe in the Bermuda triangle myth if it happened with modern planes and their transponders.

replies(3): >>46183386 #>>46185094 #>>46188636 #
1. macintux ◴[07 Dec 25 17:30 UTC] No.46183386[source]▶
Your comment reminded me about the concrete arrows deployed across the U.S. for pilots.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/before-radios-pilots-n...

According to that, Montana still uses them.

replies(3): >>46183702 #>>46184025 #>>46186999 #
2. abbycurtis33 ◴[07 Dec 25 18:12 UTC] No.46183702[source]▶
Absolutely unbelievable there's not an overhead picture in that article.
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3. lukan ◴[07 Dec 25 18:24 UTC] No.46183803[source]▶
Plenty of pictures are here instead

https://www.dreamsmithphotos.com/arrow/

4. buildsjets ◴[07 Dec 25 18:50 UTC] No.46184025[source]▶
Unfortunately, they de-commissioned the airway beacon system as an official navaid and stopped maintenance for the ground markers during the pandemic. Most are still there, but unlighted and unmaintained. A limited few are being operated by a historical society.

https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/beacons.aspx

5. ◴[07 Dec 25 19:38 UTC] No.46184416[source]▶
6. andy99 ◴[08 Dec 25 00:38 UTC] No.46186999[source]▶
Reminds me that there were a number of planes that landed accidentally on the runway of an Air Force base close to Heathrow, apparently because it shared some similar landmarks, some kind of gas tanks the pilots were using as waypoints:

https://simpleflying.com/pan-am-707-raf-northolt/